Rim for vehicle-wheels.



R. S. BRYANT.

RIM FOIL VEHICLE WHEELS. I APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 5, 1913 1,125,456, Patented Jan 19,1915.

j III 5 I. 2, ll J17. Z v

40 feign matter, while the removal of such a gUNITED era-res ram RICHARD S, BBYANT, 0F CLEVELAND, OHIO, ASSIGNOB T0 THE fiTANDdRD WELDING FFICE.

COMPANY, OF QLEVELAND, 0515, A CORPORATION OF OHIO.

RIM FOR VEHICLE-WHEELS.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, RICHARD S. Bnraxr, a citizen of the United States, residing at Cleveland, in the county of Cuyahoga and State of Ohio, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Rims for Vehicle-Vtheels, of'which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to vehicle wheels and particularly to a device whereby a tire carrying rim of the demountable type may be secured in place about thc wheel telly.

Within recent years it has become the prevailing method to provide each vehicle with an extra rim equipped with a suitable tire, the tire being maintained in such condition as to be ready to use immediately in case ot emergency and 'the wheel being constructed rim and tire already in place thereon.

:so as to permit the rapid and convenient substitution of the new rim and tire for the In order to maintain the rim in place about the folly, it has long been customary to inter pose a sort of wedging means between the tWo and todraw the same laterally into the annular space provided therebteween so as to center the rim-accurately about the telly and maintain it rigidly in positionl Also within recent years, it has been customary to employ a discontinuous ring of some nature for effecting this wedging, owing to the fact that the ring supports and reinforces the rim at all points. This ring is necessarily adiscontinuons one in order to permit for the necessary contraction and expansion of the same, wherefore its meeting ends have frequently been left spaced part, allowing the. entrance of water, sand, -and other forring has sometimes been the matter of considerable diliiculty, particularly in case the parts had remained in contact a long time so as to become rusted together, this diliiculty being particularly pronounced in case the inner surface of the ring and the 00- operating surface of the telly were cylindrical.

Accordingly, the object of this invention is the provision of means for preventing the admission of foreign matter between the ends of the ring; the provision of means whereby the ends of the ring may be maintained in strict almement as to support the rim uniformly; the provision of means Specification of Letters fratent.

Patented Jan, t9, 1M5,

Application filed September 5, 1923. Serial No. 788.3%.

or rather telly band and wedge ring showing the meeting ends of the latter; and Fig. 3 is a transverse cross sectionalview taken upon the line 3--3 of Fig. 2 and looking in the direction '01 the arrows.

For purposes of this invention, the wheel may be divided up into a body or circular member, a rim adapted to surround the sameand detachably connected thereto, and securing means i'vhereby the rim is secured to the circular member'or body. The circular member or body is generally provided with a substantially cylindrical outer face 1. here formed by a metallic telly band 2, shrunk around the periphery of the telly 3, although it will be understood that any suitable or desirable construction of wheel body could be employed within the limits of this in ention.- The demountable rim is shown at 4, and comprisesa metal ring or hoop having its edges laterally outturned as at 5 so as to engage and secure the side walls of the tire 6. In the present case, the securing of the tire is efiected-tl'n'ough the medium of separate side rings 7, although it will be understood that any suitable or desirable form of rim could be employed within the limits of this invention.

At the side of the wheel the adjacent faces of the circular member and rim are formed so as to diverge from each other so as to form a wedge receiving recess. In the present instance, the circular member made cylindrical. out t0 the very edge, while the lateral portion of the rim is flared as shown at 10, although it is obvious that other arrangements could be employed to secure the same results. In the annular space between the rim and circular member is interposed a wedge ring 11 having its opposite faces shaped complementarily to the faces of said rim and circular member, and suitable means such as bolts 12 and clips 13 are rovided whereby this ring may be shifted aterally into wedging engagement with the parts between which it is introduced. In order to allow for necessary expansion "and contraction this rin is made discontinuous, the abutting ends 0 the ring preferablybeing halved together as shown 1n Fig. 2,'so as to form a kind of scarf joint, each end being formed with a projecting tongue extending into a correspondmg recess formed in the other end, the sides of the tongues being formed parallel to the plane of the ring, and the width of the tongues being such as to maintain the edges of the ring in substantial alinement. The clip 13 being applied to the end of the ring which has the outermost tongue it will be obvious that the ends of the ring will be forced into place simultaneously and without relative disalinement.

One end of the ring, preferably the end having the outermost tongue, is formed at its outer edge with an extension 16 adapted tooverlie slightly the opposite end of the ring, and spaced therefrom a suflicient distance to permit the insertion of a prying tool such as the blade of a screw-driver. When arranged as illustrated in these drawings, this extension serves further to cover and protect the joint between the ends of the ring, while falling as it does within the edge of the rim 4 and within the line of the clips 13, it is relatively inconspicuous and is shielded from harm. The width of the wedge-ring and the amount of lateral dislacement of the extension 15 is such that 1t is always possible to introduce a tool therebetween without interference from the: edge of the circular member. The opposite edge of the rim (notshown) may be supported and spaced away from the circular member in any suitable manner, as will be well understood- While I have described my improvements as employed in connection with a ring having a cylindrical interior and a tapered exterior it is obvious that they could be employed with rings wherein the cylindrical and tapered portions were otherwise arranged, although my improve ments ofl'er .particular advantages in con nection with the arran ement shown because of the unusual di culty of removing 56 the ring. Also while I have described my invention in the embodiment which at present has commended itself to be the most satisfactory, itwill be obvious that changes therein may be made within the terms 04 no the annexed claims.

2. A. wedge ring of the type adapted to be interposed between the rim and circular member of a vehicle wheel, said ring bein discontinuous and having its ends forme to overlie each other laterally, one of said ends being formed with a laterally spaced extension adapted for cooperation with a prying tool.

3. A. wedge ring of the type adapted to be interposed between the rim and circular member of a vehicle wheel, saidring being discontinuous and having its ends formed to overlie each other latenally, one of said ends being formed with a laterally spaced extension adapted to define a tool receiving recess, said extension being displaced latorally a sufiicient' distance to overhang the edge of the circular member even when the ring is fully seated.

l. A wedge ring adapted to be interposed between the rim and circular member of a vehicle wheel, said ring being discontinuous and-having its ends halved together to form a scarf joint, each of said ends being formed with a recess and a projection with the projection of one end extending into the recess of the opposite end, and the projection at the wider ed e of the ring being formed with a lateral y spaced extension for the reception of a pr ing tool.

. In testimony whereofz I hereunto afiix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

RICHARD S. BRYANT. Witnesses HAROLD E. SMITH, J B. HULL. 

